Amusement device.



PATENTED MAY 9, 1905.

W. H. STRIOKLER. I AMUSEMENT DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED SEPT.3. 1904.

www@ m /@1271 film PATENTED MAY 9, 1905;

W. H. STRI-GKLER. AMUSEMENT DEVICE. APPLIOAQTION FILED $3213, 1904.

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W. H. STRIGKLER. AMUSEMENT DEVICE;

APPLICATION FILED smms. 1904.

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AMUSEMENT DEVQGEQ SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO,789,243, dated May 9, 1905.

Application filed .iptember 3, 1904- Sarlal No. 223,285.

1'0 (til who/:1, it may concern:

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. STRICKLER, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and Stateof'Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inAmusement Devices, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to that class of amusement devices thathave a continuous More particularly stated, the invention re-v lates tothat class of devices which have movable sections or platformsincorporated in the floor of the passage-way and arranged in positionstobe stepped upon, and means for moving or reciprocating said floorsections or platforms.

The invention consists in the features of nov-- elty thatare hereinafterdescribed, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are made apart'of this specification, and in whiclr- Figure l is a horizontalsection of a building equipped with devices embodying the invention.Figs. 2 and 3 are respectively a side elevation and,a plan of one of themovable platforms and its accessories on a larger scale. Figs. at and 5are respectively a side elevation and a plan view, partly in sections,of some of the parts thereof on a still larger scale. Fig. 6 is a viewshowing another of the platforms and itsaceessories in elevation and thepassage-way in vertical transverse section.

The building, the outer walls of which are shown at A, may be of anydesired construction. Within it is a tortuous passage-way 'B. theterminals of which are preferably at the entrance A and exit A,respectively, of

the building. Theside walls G of the passage way that are not formed bythe outer walls of the building may be carried up only a few feet abovethe average height of a person, and the space above them may be leftopen or the passage-way may be provided with aceilingC", as desired, Thebest results are had by dimly lighting the passage-Way, and for thispurpose (the passageway being otherwise darkened) a suitable number ofincandescent electric lamps cwith semi-translucent bulbs orglobes arearranged near the top of thezwalls of the'passage-way. ()ther lamps cwith transparent bulbs are also used for thoroughly illuminating thepassageway in case of emergency. The dim light or, still better, totaldarkness and the sinuousity of the passage-way make the place moremysterious and uncanny to the uninitiated and serve to heighten theeffects produced by the floor devices. The stationary portions of thefloor are shown at D. -They are interrupted at as many places as desiredto provide openings in which are located movable sections or platforms EE E, &c., which are thus incorporated in andform'a part of thepassage-way floor, over which the revelers must walk in passing from theentrance to the exit. Because-of the darkness the difierences in thefloor construction cannot be seen, so that the person is not in theleast forewarned that something is about to happen, and althoughin astate of expectancy still his inability to see makes it difficnlt todiscern the direction of movement, and meanwhile he is nonplussed.

F and two approaches G, one at each end,

The oenwhich are of similar construction. tral portion of the platformis preferably supported by four parallel standards H, the upper ends ofwhich are jointed to the platform at h and the lower ends of which arepivotally supported at it, so that the standards may oscillate inunison, their parallelism, and con sequently the horizontal position ofthe central portion of the platform, being at all times maintained. InFigs. 2 to 5 the standards are shown in vertical position, and theentire platform, including its approaches, is in central position.-Provision is made for moving the platform to and fro through equaldistances on opposite sides of this central position, and as a simple,inexpensive, and effective means for moving it I prefer to use a pitinanI, one end. of which has an eye for receiving a rod J, carried by two ofthe standards H, and the other end of which has an eye for receiving awrist-pin K, carried by a wheel L, which may be revolved at any desiredspeed by any suitable mechanism. Preferably it is revolved slowly, sothat the platform is given a slow to-and-fro and up-anddown movement,the reversals of which are so gradual and easy that they produce nosudden jar or jolt. This is because of the gradually increasing anddecreasing speed common toall crank movements. It is greatest at themiddle and gradually dies away to nothing at the end of the stroke.Preferably the platform is arranged to move in the direction of thepassage-way, and when so arranged the approaches and abutting portionsofthe floor l) are provided with overlapping and intermeshing tongues.Each of the approaches is constructed of a number of narrow strips 9,preferably ofwood, placed edge up and spaced apart by short blocks g,arranged between them at their ends adjacent to the central portion ofthe platform, the strips and spacingblocks being provided. with holesfor the passage of a long bolt or tie-rod M, by which they are firmlybound together. The approach thus constructed is connected to thecentral portion of the platformby hinges N, so that they are capable oflimited independent movement. The adjacent abutment is similarlyconstructed of strips (Z, spacingblocks (1, and tie-bolt M; but it isfixed immovably with relation to the fioor D. The projecting portions ofthe strips d and g form the tongues above mentioned, and they intermeshand overlap each other far enough to prevent their disengagement as theplatform moves to and fro. .The tongues d are perforated near theirouter ends for the passage of a heavy rod 0, firmly supported by anysuitable means, and the tongues g are provided with slots g", throughwhich also this rod passes, the slots being of sufficient length topermit the described to-and-fro movement of. the platform. This rodforms the support "forthe outer extremity of the approach, and

it also prevents the tongues g from rid ng up and escaping from thespaces between the tongues (Z. The overlapping and intermeshing tonguesform at all times a practically unbroken treadway and absolutely obviateall danger of injuring persons walking upon it. The central'poi tion ofthe platform-when in central position is slightly higher than theabutments, so that in some positions the overlapping tongues are at anangle to each other; but at no time do the extremities of one setproject above the other set, and in order to in-.

sure this they may, if desired, be beveled off, as shown. Any desiredadditional means may be used for supporting and giving strength to theapproaches and abutments.

When the cause is known, sensations produced by this device somewhatresemble those produced by the roll of a boat; but when experieneed indarkness andthe cause is unknown it is difficult to discover it from theeffect alone, and until it is discovered and understood it is impossibleto keep ones balance even though the motion is slow;

I desire to have it understood that in its broadest aspect the inventionis not limited to a platform movable in the direction of the length ofthe passage-way, nor to a platform having relatively movable andself-accommodating approaches, nor to approaches of any particularconstruction, nor to any particular means for supporting the platform,nor to any particular means for moving the platform, and modificationsof these features are shown in the drawings. Y Others will readilysuggest themselves to those skilled in the art.

The movable platform E is supported by metallic hangers o'r straps P,which depend from an overhead support and are located outside of thevertical walls Cof the passage-way. They are arranged with their fiatfaces parallelwith the passageway, so that the platform is capable ofmoving transversely with respect to the passage-way, sufficientclearance being left in the floor for this purpose. To the platform issecured a bracket Q, having a perforation through which passes athreaded rod R, carrying nuts S, between which the bracket is clamped.The rod is provided with a ring T, embracing an eccentric. U, wherebythe rod is reciprocated and the platform vibrated. In order to permitthe necessary play of the rod relatively to the bracket due to itslateral movement under the action of the eccentric, the opening throughthe bracket is enlarged somewhat, and rubber washers V are interposedbetween the nuts and bracket, as shown in Fig. 5.

The term to and fro is used in this specification in contradistinctionto up and down and isintended to define directions that are transverseto the vertical.

The other movable floor sections or platforms have mechanism for movingthem in various ways; but as the present invention is not concerned withthis mechanism the de tails in this construction are not shown in thedrawings and need not be fully described. Sufiice it is to say that themovementof each platform ditfersin character from the movement of theothers. For example, the piatform E is supported by acentrally-locatedhoz-i- 1 Zontal pivot on which it rocks u p and downafter the manner of a teeter. The platform E is hinged at one end andyicldingl'y sup ported at the other end, and beneath itsyieldingly-supported end is a rapidly-revolvirig roo from the movementof the other sections, subcam, against which the platform is forced bythe weight of a person. The result is a rapid vertical vibration andloud rattling noise.

What I claim as new is 1'. A deviceof the class described having adarkened, narrow, tortuouspassage-way having a floor provided atintervals with movable sections, and means for imparting movement to theseveral movable sections, the movement of each section varying incharacter from the movement of the other sections, substantially asdescribed. 1

2. A device of the class described having a darkened, narrow tortuouspassage-way having a floor comprising fixed and movable sections, meansfor dimly lighting the passageway, and means for imparting movement tothe several movable floor-sections, the movement of each section varyingin character stantially as described.

3. A device of the class described having a continuous, darkened,narrow, tortuous passage-way having a floor provided atintervals withmovable sections variously supported so as to bemovable in. differentdirections, and means for imparting movement to the several sectionswhereby the movement of each section varies in character from themovement of the other sections, substantially as described.

at. A device of the class described having a floor comprising a movablesection or platform and means for moving said platform to and fro,substantially as described.

' A device of the class described havinga floor comprising amovable'section o r platform, and means for imparting to said platform acombined to-and fro and up-and-down movement. substantially asdescribed.

6. A device of the class described having a floor comprising a movablesection or plat: form,- supports carrying the platform, the platformends of the supports being movable in arcs of circles, and means formoving the platform in said arcs, substantially as described. I

7. A device of the class described having a floor comprising a movablesection or piatform, slnmlards connected to the platform 1 and havingpivotal supports below the platform and means for moving the platform,substantially as described.

A device of the class described having a floor comprising a movablesection or platform and means for moving the platform to and fro. saidmeans including a wrist-pin and i pitman, substantially as described.

A device of the class described havinga floor comprising a movablesection or plat form, parallel standards connected to the platform andpivotally supported below it, and

.means for moving the platform, substantially so as to be movablerelatively thereto, andmeans for moving the platform to and fro,substantially as described.

12. A device of the class described, having a floor comprising a fixedsection and a movable section or platform and an approach hinged to theplatform and at its free side meeting the fixed portion of the floor andmeans for moving the platform to and fro, substantially as described.13. A deviceof the class described having a floor comprising a fixedsection and a movable section, said sections having overlapping tongues,and means for moving the movable section to and fro, substantially asdescribed. 1a. A device of the classdescribed having a floor comprisinga fixed section and a movable section, said sections having overlapping,inter-meshing tongues, one set of tongues being inovably connected toits section of the floor, and means for imparting a reciprocatingtoand-t'ro movement to the movable section, substantially as described.

:iloor comprising fixed sections and a movable section, the said movablesection having at each end a plurality of tongues join ted thereto, andeach of the fixed sections having a plurality of tongues intermeshingwith the tongues of the movable section. and means for impartato-and-fro reciprocating movement to the movable section,substantiallydescri bed.

16. A device of the class described having a floor cofnprising a fixedsection, a movable section, said sections having overlapping,intermeshing tongues, provided with openings, a rod passing through saidopenings, the open: ings in one set of tongues being elongated.

and means for moving the platform, substantially as described.

I Vv'lLLlAld H. .Slltitfliidili.

Witnesses:

L. M. HOPKINS, Geo. C. Forums.

